


Memorable Event, A

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-04-28
Updated: 2001-04-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 22:39:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14799330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of theWest Wing Fanfiction Central, a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in theannouncement post.





	Memorable Event, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

The Schedule: A Memorable Event  
By: Jenna

Disclaimer: This world is Aaron's, I admit it's so. But for a moment, I make it go. Apologies.  
Feedback: tells me the effort is worthwhile.  
Achieve: Sure, please just let me know.

(Voiceover) Previously in 'The Schedule': The Setup, Week Five, Special Dispensation

Setting: Week Six

* * Wednesday * *

"Morning Josh," an all too chipper Sam practically sang and danced his way into the Bullpen. "Spring is in the air, the trees are in bloom, the birds are singing, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood."

"Please, god, tell me you're not gonna do your Gene Kelly impersonation?" Josh replied stretching up to touch his doorway.

"No. Although, in addition to being the recording secretary for the Princeton Gilbert and Sullivan Society, I was in several operettas. I could probably make a living on Broadway someday."

"Let's hope that won't happen anytime soon. For everyone's sake."

"Why are you such a grumpus on such a beautiful day?"

"I haven't left the West Wing in two days," Josh replied twisting back and forth to stretch his back. "I wouldn't know it's spring let alone a beautiful day."

"You didn't go home last night either?"

"No. Between another new temp -- who incidentally failed to come in today -- and prepping for the economic summit next week, I can't afford to take the time to go home."

"Thank god you can shower here," said Donna walking up to the two men and scooting past Josh to get into his office. Josh and Sam followed, with Sam closing the door behind. Josh set his wrist watch alarm --his Christmas gift from Donna-- for the maximum allowed 60 seconds and pulled Donna into his arms. For the last few days, those 60 seconds at the start and end of the day were his lifeblood: the magic elixir that recharged his soul and got him through the 20-hour workdays.

"Your temp didn't come in?" Donna asked, her chin was on Josh's shoulder and her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Not yet anyway. Did you ever talk to Ginger for me?"

"I did. But she said Sam is bribing her not to help you. So until you make her a better offer, you're out of luck."

"Sam! I thought you were my friend," Josh glared at his friend from over Donna's shoulder.

"I am, but that doesn't mean you can have Ginger," Sam responded. "Just 'cause you run through temps like Carter's runs through little pills doesn't mean you can start on my assistants."

"'Carter's runs through little pills'? What the hell does that mean?" Josh asked.

"I'm not sure. It may just be something my mother used to say."

"It's Carter's *has* little pills," Donna went to explanatory mode. "You have more of whatever than Carter's has little pills. It was an expression. Carter's Little Pills were a popular laxative in the 1960s, so I can see why your mother may have modified the expression."

"Donna?" Josh said pulling back to look at her face, "How do you know this stuff?"

The alarm sounded and Donna pulled out of Josh's arms while he shut the beeping off.

"I read, Josh."

Josh took her face between his hands and turned his head slightly so he could kiss her cheek. As he smiled at her, she reached up to caress his right cheek and placed a kiss on his left dimple. This was their morning and evening ritual. Always behind closed doors, and always witnessed by either C.J. or Sam.

Pulling away, Donna said. "You will be leaving the West Wing today or Leo will hear about it."

"Yeah, I know better than to try and cancel out of therapy. Facing his wrath if I mess up on this courtship schedule is nothing compared to what I'd face if I skipped a therapy session."

"Speaking of courtship... where are you gonna go?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"It's Week 6 now. You get to go out on a date. Where's it gonna be?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Josh replied, sitting back on the edge of his desk and crossing one ankle over the other. "It's going to be hard for me to get out of the office this week at all. It'll have to wait until Friday or Saturday. Maybe by then I'll be ready for the summit."

"Maybe we can catch a movie, I've been wanting to see 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', and Charlie said the President is going to get a copy." Donna generously offered a quick and easy date choice knowing how exhausted and over-burdened Josh already was.

"That's not even a date movie! And going to the White House theater is hardly a real date." Sam exclaimed. "You should at least go see that new Ashley Judd movie."

"Ashley Judd prancing around in her underwear? Just what I want my boyfriend to see," Donna said with an exaggerated pout.

"On second thought, maybe you shouldn't go see a date movie. They're designed to...uh... lead to...well... places you can't go right now," Sam trailed off looking away from his friends.

"No... not a movie." Josh replied, staring out the window as he envisioned the 'perfect date.' Our first date should be a memorable event. Dinner and dancing at a four-star restaurant. I dunno. I just want to do something incredibly special for you," he finished, gazing back at Donna.

"CJ's right, you really can be so sweet sometimes. But it's the company that'll make it special to me, Josh," Donna replied with a slight smile. Then putting on her best down-to-business-face, she snapped, "You guys have staff in 10, and I've gotta go. I'll call you later for lunch," her voice softening at the end.

"Yeah. I should be able to make it," Josh watched as she walked out the door before turning back to Sam. He always tried to make time for lunch with Donna. "It's got be special. I'm not going to ever have another first date with my wife." He whispered the word 'wife' as if it were sacred.

"Yeah... We'll think of something. Let's go."

* * Thursday * *

"Hi guys. How's it going?" Ainsley came up to Josh and Donna as they were having lunch in the White House Mess. Sam followed her carrying their lunch tray and trying --unsuccessfully-- not to slosh the iced tea onto the sandwiches. Josh and Donna greeted their friends as they cleared a spot for Sam to set the tray down.

"You sure you don't mind us joining you?" Ainsley asked.

"It's public, they can't talk about it," Sam responded automatically.

"Talk about what?" Ainsley asked.

"Sam-- She didn't know," Josh moaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"Oops. My bad."

"What didn't I know? 'Cause I'm not precisely clear on what I know what I didn't know, and I really think I should know exactly what it is I didn't know, since I evidently know it now."

"We can't tell you," Donna replied, since she was the only one who actually understood that.

"Well, what if I just take this muffin, obviously Josh was going to let it go to waste anyway, and it will serve the purpose of being a retainer for my professional services. As I would then be your lawyer, you would be able to impart to me that which you are apparently unable or otherwise reluctant to disclose under the present conditions. Give that set of circumstances, could you tell me what it is that I fail to realize I know?

"I've already got the legal representation angle covered," Sam quipped, "they don't need a Republican with the singular inability to construct a succinct, yet eloquent, sentence."

"As your future legal partner in the firm of Hayes and Seaborn, I would think that you would provide me with the information necessary to form a clear and honest opinion about the matter presently before us whatever it might happen to be. And my sentence structure is fine, thank you," Ainsley replied, taking a bite out of her club sandwich.

"What makes you think we're going into practice together. And anyway it's Seaborn and Hayes. Or it would be if we did form a practice together, not that I'm suggesting or in any way implying that I would ever consider forming a law practice with you," Sam replied, reaching over to take the other half of Ainsley's sandwich and taking a bite. "This is good. I should have gotten it instead of the tuna salad."

"Honestly, Sam, why do you even bother getting you own sandwich if you're always going to appropriate mine."

"I don't always take yours. Sometimes I take CJs. I'd take Josh's, but he's too quick with the fork. He stabbed me once. I still have the scars. See," Sam showed her his hand, pointing to a couple of freckles.

"Those are freckles, you're trying to change the subject, and I still want to know what it is I don't know I know," Ainsley tilted her head and looked pointedly at Josh and Donna who'd been mesmerized at the floorshow and were wondering if that's how they looked to other people.

"We really can't talk about it here," Josh stated firmly. "Come to my office later or Sam can tell you all about it. Just, in private," he said rising from the table. Donna joined him, saying her 'goodbyes' as Josh guided her from the Mess with a hand almost touching the small of her back.

"Is this what I think it is?" Ainsley asked.

"More.

"More? Wow."

"I'll explain it all later."

* * Friday * *

"Josh," Sam called across the bullpen.

"Sam! It's done! I know everything I could possibly need to know for the Economic Summit." He walked across the bullpen towards Sam, noticing there was no one within earshot. He gleefully continued, "I can now take Donna out for dinner and dancing and impress upon her just exactly how much better a boyfriend I am than Doctor stop-for-a-beer Freeride ever was!"

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, Josh, but one of our spy-planes was fired on and had to make an emergency landing in North Korea. They're demanding an apology for invading their airspace."

"Damn," Josh responded with a sigh. Running his fingers through his already mussed hair, he continued, "Is the crew safe?"

"They managed to land, so that's a good sign. Other than that I don't know."

"Is Leo in the Sit Room?"

Sam nodded, "They just pulled him out of our meeting. He sent me to tell you not to leave."

"I'd better call Donna."

"Yeah."

Josh stepped back to his desk and dialed the extension to Donna's office. "Hey, we've got a situation. I can't leave."

"Is it bad?" She asked. "I'm done here, I can come over."

"CNN's got it," C.J. said poking her head in the door.

"Yeah. Come on over. I gotta go."

"I'll be right there," Donna replied hanging up the phone.

Twenty minutes later, Leo and the President emerged from the Sit Room and called the Senior Staff to the Oval Office for a briefing.

"They're not being mistreated, as far as we know," Leo explained, "but they're not allowed to catch the next train home either. Then there's the matter of the plane."

"Yeah." Toby replied, thinking of the technology and records being stripped from the plane. "Nothing says 'I love you' like top-secret technology."

"On the plus side, we're hoping the crew had time to destroy most of the classified material before they landed," Leo continued. "But we won't know that until they let us talk to the crew."

"When will that be?" Josh asked.

"I've been in touch with the British Embassy," the President replied. They think they can possibly get a delegation in see the crew for us in the morning. Getting a US delegation in is a different kettle of fish."

"Yes, sir."

"Sometimes I really wonder why my predecessors in this office were determined to make my life so much harder."

"So why not apologize, sir?" Sam asked. "Why not say 'Oops, our bad' and just get the crew back?"

"Because it'd set a precedent." The President responded. It'd make us look weak, and give them leverage to use against 'the big, bad USA' in their propaganda. Besides, we weren't in their airspace. Not unless you buy their definition, which is their airspace is wherever they want it to be."

"Josh," Leo said, "Get on the phones. There's going to be a lot of senators demanding to know what's happening. Toby and Sam start working on a statement. We want to express our astonishment that they would fire on our plane -- which was not in their airspace -- and then have the audacity to demand an apology while still coming off as regretful that this ever happened. CJ keep us briefed on the wires and what CNN has. Tell the press we'll have a statement for them at 8:30. Get to work."

* * *

The 8:30 press conference came and went and still they knew little more about the crew than they did before. Josh had been on the phone constantly reassuring senators, congressmen, governors and even a couple of family members of the captured crew that the President was doing everything in his power to get them back safely and quickly. Donna had helped with the calls, but now she'd disappeared and left him to finish his final call from a long list.

"Josh," Sam said softly, standing in the doorway. "Leo wants you to meet with Ainsley. She's made some notes on the Geneva Convention."

"Yeah, sure," Josh said rubbing his hands down his face and getting up to come around his desk.

"You should wear your coat. Ainsley's a stickler for professional appearance," Sam said.

Josh looked at Sam thinking that he was getting really strange since he started caring what a certain Republican lawyer thought, but he rolled down his shirt sleeves and put his suit coat on.

"You need to fix your tie, too," Sam helpfully pointed out.

"Sam, what's got into you?"

"Nothing. Ainsley's just--"

"I know, 'a stickler for professional appearance.' Whatever," Josh replied tightening his tie.

"I'll walk you."

"Sam, what's going on here?"

"I think Ainsley has a stash of Fresca, and I want one," Sam quipped as he walked Josh towards Ainsley's sub-basement office in the Steam Pipe Distribution Venue.

"Since when have you liked Fresca?" Josh asked.

"Well, I've never actually tried one, but tonight seemed like a good time to start. It just seems like a Fresca kind of night. Don't you think?"

"Sam, you're really flaking out on me here," Josh replied opening the door to the sub-basement and stopping speechless.

"Have fun buddy," Sam smiled and lightly punched his friend in the arm. He gave the speechless Deputy Chief of Staff a slight push forward and departed, closing the door behind him.

Josh looked over the stair railing at the dinner table covered by a white linen tablecloth set with an elaborate candelabra and an assortment of Chinese food containers. He noted Ainsley's portable stereo on a stack of law books in the corner. He recognized the 1960s slow dance love song playing on the romantic oldies station. But, before all of that and most of all, he saw Donna in her red dress. The one he'd told her she should buy.

"You... you look great," he said, realizing that was totally inadequate and that he'd said it before. "I mean, I... I don't know what to say."

"Josh, you can join me," Donna smiled at him and beckoned for him to come down the stairs.

"Right. I should do that," he cleared his throat and came down the stairs to stand before her."

"Did you do this?" He asked.

"No," she smiled and shook her head, "everyone else did. The President loaned the candelabra and table cloth. Leo ordered the food. Well, he had Margaret do it. Sam and Ainsley set everything up. By the way, Ainsley is in her office -- chaperoning... Say 'Hi,' Ainsley" she spoke louder tilting her head back towards the slightly ajar door.

"Hi Josh! Have a nice date," came a southern drawl from behind the door.

"uh... Hi Ainsley," Josh returned the greeting, still confused by the whole thing.

"And," Donna continued, "she does have notes on the Geneva Convention for you to take back to Leo. Sam's guarding the door and CJ and Toby are running interference to make sure you're not missed. Though I'm not sure who's left to miss you. Anyway, they wanted to help, so that's what they're doing. We have an hour for dinner and dancing in Chez Bas-ce-mont."

"Is that French for basement?" He asked with a smile, happy to play along if she was going to bring the banter.

"No, but it should be. We have a fine collection of gourmet dishes. Kung pao chicken, assuming Ainsley didn't eat it all, General Tsao's chicken, beef with broccoli, steamed rice, and we even have hot and sour soup, but we have to use coffee mugs for bowls."

"What? Coffee mugs for bowls. What kind of four-star restaurant uses coffee mugs?"

"Why, I have you know, it's the latest thing. That just goes to show what a sheltered life you lead. You need a girlfriend who'll show you the finer things in life."

"I do at that. I know something else I need."

"What's that? Donna replied with a shy smile and her best 'come hither' movie vamp pose.

"This dance," Josh said holding out his hand as the familiar refrain about 'slow dancing, swaying to the music' began.

"I though you'd never ask," she replied taking his hand and moving into his arms. The dance slowed to swaying which slowed to just standing in each others arms, enjoying the moment.

"There's something else, we get to do tonight, and I don't want time to run out first."

"And what would that be?"

"This," he said taking her face between his hands and pulling her towards him for a kiss. Only this time, he didn't tilt his head to kiss her on the cheek.

* * * The end.


End file.
